NEW YORK (AP) – In the decade that Reed Krakoff has overseen the creative direction of Coach, the luxury leatherware company has grown exponentially, expanding its offerings to fragrance and jewelry and increasing its number of stores.

But despite the evolution from reliable family-owned handbag business to corporate powerhouse worth $2.8 billion, Krakoff says the company hasn’t changed nearly as much as its customers.

The Internet completely changed the fashion game, he says.

“People are more informed, more sophisticated. They see the same stores in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Milan,” Krakoff says during an interview at his Manhattan office decorated not with fashion sketches but with dozens of books. “We have to keep Coach a destination. . . . We don’t want people to think they’ll know what they’ll see.”

For him, the Hamptons collection introduced nine years ago served as the blueprint for what Coach would be going forward: It has a clean, chic style with old-school details, such as sturdy straps and a mix of zipper and turn-lock closures.

Consumers clearly aren’t bored by the 66-year-old Coach: It has the highest awareness rating among the wealthy – 52 percent – according to an analysis of the luxury handbag market by the Luxury Institute, an independent research firm focusing on America’s richest people.

The company began as a workshop with six artisans in New York; early bags were created from the leather of a baseball glove because it was considered soft and supple.

Since Krakoff’s arrival, the brand has taken a more modern look and proven it’s not afraid to put classic styles in wild colors.

“Leather is always going to be the key to our success. Luckily, there’s always something to do with it,” he says.

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